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Chapter 09
“About four weeks. You are pregnant.”
It was the doctor’s conclusion after she went to the hospital first thing in the morning, after spending the weekend in confusion.
It wasn’t as shocking as she expected.
She had already checked her condition herself.
A sudden increase in appetite, constant waves of sleepiness, chronic fatigue, headaches and dizziness, nausea, pain in the chest, lower back, and lower abdomen, and even slight bleeding.
Every symptom described in medical books as early signs of pregnancy matched exactly what she had been experiencing for days.
“…I see.”
Yulia replied weakly.
Because it was early pregnancy, her condition was already poor, and after barely sleeping all weekend, dark circles had formed under her eyes and her skin looked dull and tired.
Anyone would think she was a woman suffering from an unwanted pregnancy.
The doctor, who seemed to have seen many women like her before, looked at Yulia with a slightly sympathetic gaze and spoke calmly.
“A child is a precious gift. Please be happy that a lovely gift has come to you.”
“…?”
Yulia looked at him in disbelief.
Behind his glasses, his small eyes glimmered with something almost insane.
What… what is he saying? Does he think a child is always a gift? That’s only true for prepared couples… not for someone like me!
She felt the urge to stand up immediately and slap the doctor’s shiny bald head as hard as she could, but she barely held herself back.
“Haha… it can’t be a mistake, right?”
Yulia asked, forcing a polite tone while suppressing her anger.
The doctor slowly shook his head.
Instead, he spoke again in a calm voice.
“Why don’t you talk to the child’s father?”
If I could talk to him, would I be here alone?!
Yulia suppressed her trembling fists and stood up from the chair.
“…I’ll be going now.”
She turned away, barely holding down her boiling emotions, and slammed the door of the consultation room on her way out.
If this was also an early pregnancy symptom, then she was getting angry several times a day without control.
“Oh my?”
Ignoring the hospital staff who looked at her in surprise, Yulia walked out of the hospital quickly.
“Haa…”
She collapsed onto a bench right in front of the hospital and held her throbbing head.
She truly felt like she was on the verge of losing her mind.
The father of the child?
She didn’t want to believe it, but it was probably Cassian.
Aside from him, she hadn’t been with anyone else in this body. And she could barely remember that night with him, so she couldn’t even tell if they had used protection properly.
The realization made her suddenly afraid.
First, Cassian was not an ordinary man.
He was a member of the imperial family of the Tritan Empire, and more importantly, the male lead of “The Embroidered Star of Tritan.”
Stories like that always had a female lead.
She didn’t know whether he had already met her or not, but the fact that he had spent the night with her without hesitation suggested he probably didn’t have a lover yet.
A male lead who already got another woman pregnant before meeting the female lead?
No story could be more chaotic than this.
Second, even aside from the original plot, her relationship with Cassian was objectively bad.
She remembered how they were rivals at the academy.
Especially Cassian—whenever he saw her, wasn’t he always extremely cold?
“Ugh…”
Yulia rubbed her face roughly in frustration.
She thought of the pile of letters on her desk in the dorm.
“Five interviews scheduled just for next week…”
Fortunately, the Tritan Empire had excellent awareness and culture regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare.
Women who had children were not forced to quit their jobs, nor were they treated unfairly or discriminated against because of it.
On the contrary, it was considered a virtue of the middle class to genuinely celebrate and even encourage a colleague’s pregnancy.
But Yulia was an exception.
The unavoidable one-year gap caused by pregnancy filled her with unbearable anxiety.
“I’m not ready to become a mother!”
She shouted, grabbing her hair in frustration.
She wanted to tell someone immediately.
She needed comfort, reassurance, and sincere advice.
Someone who understood her situation better than anyone… and could give her realistic guidance.
Then something came to her mind.
A box wrapped in dark blue cloth.
The special medicine box that Lady Catherine had carefully prepared for her.
After a moment of hesitation, Yulia stood up.
She needed to go to Catherine.
“…What did you just say?”
Catherine lowered her elegant fan and spoke in a low voice.
She looked at Yulia with a serious expression.
“I…”
“Pregnant?”
Before Yulia could finish, Catherine shouted.
Then, startled by her own voice, she quickly looked around the reception room—they were alone.
“What are you suddenly talking about after so long? I thought you were busy preparing for employment!”
“I’m sorry. I know I shocked you… you were the only person I could think of coming to…”
Yulia lowered her head with a tired expression.
Seeing her like that, Catherine gently patted her with a sympathetic look.
“Oh dear, you must’ve been so overwhelmed. You did well coming here.”
Yulia felt a strange sense of relief as Catherine’s voice quickly turned calm.
She had always been the center of high society.
Since she was always up to date with every rumor in the empire, she seemed less shocked than expected.
“You know who the father is, right?”
Yulia nodded quietly.
She couldn’t bring herself to say his name easily.
“Was it at the graduation ball?”
Catherine asked again.
For a moment, Yulia almost asked how she knew, but it made sense.
That was the only time Yulia, who normally buried herself in studies, had ever gone out of her way to rebel.
“Yes… that day, I don’t know what happened… I must have drunk too much.”
“Oh dear…”
“After drinking, I don’t remember anything. I never drank like that before… but that day was different…”
“Different…?”
Catherine leaned forward, eyes sparkling.
“Ah! Jerome was also quite drunk…”
Yulia quickly added that Jerome had also been drunk, worried Catherine might misunderstand.
She should explain that Jerome was drunk too, and that he seemed to have made it back to his room safely…
“I see. I understand.”
“Wait, I haven’t even finished—”
“Your eyes already told me everything.”
Catherine cut her off.
She lifted her teacup with an unreadable expression.
“I’m just worried about my future…”
“What are you saying? This isn’t about money! You can work after giving birth. Right now, you must focus on the baby!”
Catherine said firmly.
Yulia flinched.
“First, you must tell the father. And then you must marry.”
“Marry?”
Yulia shouted in shock.
She hadn’t even considered that step yet.
Me… marry Cassian? That’s absurd.
“Or were you planning to raise the child alone without marriage?”
“I… I haven’t thought that far yet. I was just too shocked…”
Catherine reached out and took Yulia’s hand resting on her lap.
It was warm and soft from holding the teacup.
“Yulia, I know you’re overwhelmed.”
She gently patted her hand.
“Even if this pregnancy came unexpectedly, let’s think of it as a sudden blessing.”
“Lady…”
Tears welled in Yulia’s eyes as she looked up.
“You might be afraid or think it’s difficult to become a mother. But giving birth is like opening a new universe. You think you teach the child, but you also learn so much from them.”
At that moment, Yulia felt she had come to the right place.
When everything felt overwhelming, she needed this kind of warm advice.
“There are things you can only feel after becoming a mother, Yulia. Give birth to the child. The child will teach you many things.”
“….”
“You are like my own daughter. I will support all the expenses and help you. Think of me as your family, your mother.”
Her eyes, slightly moist and red, looked at Yulia.
Yulia felt her nose sting.
She wasn’t sure if it was also a pregnancy symptom, but she felt like she might cry from emotion.
“Lady… I think you’re right. I was so confused, but I feel like I can finally calm down.”
Yulia said, taking a deep breath.
Then I’ll show the child first.
“Yes, yes. You must have suffered so much.”
“Then I should go talk to the father first.”
“Good idea. Jerome is currently in his room…”
“I’ll go to Isheid Castle.”
“…Huh?”
Catherine stopped mid-motion.
The smile on her face froze.
“I’ll go meet the father of the child.”
“Hahaha… Yulia…? What do you mean, Isheid Grand Duke’s castle?”
Catherine slowly released Yulia’s hand.
“Th-the father of the child is…”
Yulia tried to speak calmly.
“…Grand Duke Cassian.”
